ComplaintsforCustom Cooling & Heating, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  02/15/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Could not upload document(s) so per advice of BBB on phone I'll be mailing them to you this date. Note the explanatory letter was sent to owner of Custom Cooling ******************************* in late November. I was waiting for a reply of any kind by late December. I had a biopsy procedure rescheduled into early January which has delayed my filing this complaint until now. i have more supportive documents eg: service invoice ,proposal , etc. it would be easier for me , a Senior citizen to mail them if possible as i'm not very good at scanning & uploading.

  

  Business response

  03/07/2023

  We went to ********************** home on 7/7/2022 and gave him a estimate to replace his HVAC unit and duct work. At that time ****************** did not except the estimate nor did he give a non-refundable deposit to secure the pricing. We were then contacted by ****************** as his unit was not cooling, we went to his home on 9/9/2022 to check his unit for him. At that time ****************** stated he wanted a new unit. ************** charged ********************** unit with R22 refrigerant to allow his unit to cool and accepted the deposit for $500. When the technician came back to the office and submitted his paperwork we placed a order for the air conditioning unit but unfortunately it was on back order because of the supply chain issues we have been experiencing for the past 18 months. Once the unit arrived ****************** was contacted by the office to notify him that there had been a price increase since the original estimate was given on 7/7/22. The original estimate that was given on 7/7/22 was for a total of $6475.00. ****************** was notified that the new price would be $8175.00 because of the price increases we had been given by our suppliers.. It was also explained to ****************** that the estimate that was given on 7/7/22 was not approved at that time, no deposit was given and also no signature was provided by ****************** approving the estimate and securing a install date. We contacted ****************** in regards to the new estimate price from 9/9/22 prior to doing any work. ****************** did not agree to the price and instead of keeping the non-refundable deposit we refunded $341 of the deposit back to ******************. We retained $159.00 of the non refundable security deposit as we did not charge him the service call charge, labor or for any of the R22 refrigerant at the time of the visit on 9/9/22 because he was going to have a new unit installed. We charge $125.00 per pound for R22 refrigerant and when we were at ********************** home on 9/9/22 we put 1 pound of R22 refrigerant in his unit so in fact ****************** should have been charged a total of $99 service call, 1/2 hour labor of $60 and $125.00 for R22 refrigerant which would be a total of $284.00. We cannot control the price increases we receive from our suppliers and prices are subject to change. We advised ****************** of the price increase and did not deceive him in anyway. ****************** decided to not move forward with the install and as a courtesy we refunded $341.00 of his non-refundable $500 deposit and we also did not charge him $125.00 for the Freon we added to his unit. ****************** was not entitled to the refund of his deposit but in good faith we partially refunded his deposit. We do not feel that ****************** is owed any monies at this time. We do apologize that there was a price increase and are disappointed that we were unable to complete the install for ****************** but we did nothing wrong in this situation and feel confident that we were generous in partially refunding his deposit. 

  Customer response

  03/08/2023

   
  Complaint: 19401264
  
  I am rejecting this response because: The documents submitted by me are Signed ,dated & legible & clearly conflict in a number of ways of Custom Coolings complaint. Their documents are non-dated &/or illegible & not given or presented to me. A simple comparison of my submitted docs with make that clear. CC submitted Docs Comments: Doc #1: Chicken Scratch but seems like the original $99.00 service call. #2. Largely illegible but shows a $500.00 deposit not stating anything regarding non-refundable #3. "proposal estimate never presented to me nor signed by me & largely illegible. Now for his letter comments : To begin with see my letter for accurate timeline & sequence of events which again my signed documents support & CC's do not. ********************** hereinafter referred to as "CC" for his firmn Custom cooling. CC's opening line states we did not discuss a new unit shortly after 1st the 7/722 to inspect unit. An estimate was left & shortly thereafter (3 or 4 days) ********************** called & we came to an agreement on a discounted price $5000.00 with only question being an $800.00 duct work charge. ********************** sent out another tech to take "a deposit" to wait " a few weeks" for a new unit. See my original complaint for specific details & time lines w/ supportive docs sent by ********************** via email the actual estimate w/ no mention of non-refundable "anywhere". CC states the estimate was never approved ? He the owner made the deal with me personally & gave me the estimate via email from his offices ,see my docs submitted. ********************** paints a picture that if "****" with inaccuracies & lacking any legible documents to support his case. He is liable not only for the balance of my deposit , but any increase in cost of a new unit I may incur if my unit should ever fail which to date it has not ,which leads me to wonder why i was told i needed a new unit & if indeed it ever needed freon. I at no time told ********************** my unit was not working or cooling I was told by the tech from the 1st visit that I needed a new unit. This is just another Contractor trying to take advantage of a Senior Citizen & "inflate the price" exorbitantly due to the hurricane. If indeed supply change issues were a problem of "18 months" as ********************** noted, why did he tell me: 1. A few weeks for the new unit ? 2. Continue to install new units (in my community) before & long after Hurricane had passed. 3. Even bother offering to sell me a unit with stated "18 month delays", makes zero sense. As noted in my previous letter I spoke with manufacturer who could not confirm this price increase within the time frames given. They wished to be updated on the final result of this complaint. 

  Sincerely,

  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  01/30/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On or about 10/14/2022 a representative of Custom Cooling & Heating, *** arrived to give me a quote for a new **** system. He looked inside the house at the thermostat, ceiling registers, floor registers and the return air register. He then crawled under the house and looked at the duct system. He said it would cost $99 to give me a written quote. He then wrote a quote in the amount of $6,900 and I paid him $99 for the quote.After considering the other quotes I received, I called Custom Cooling & Heating, Inc. to install the **** system. On 12/6/2022 they arrived and installed a new system. After the installation I did an inside inspection with the the technician. The ceiling and return air registers, had air flow but the 2 floor registers did not. When brought to the technicians attention he stated he was not aware of the floor registers! I told him to install them anyway. He called his office and stated it would be an extra $600. I balked about the price, he gave me his cell phone, I spoke to some lady who had me speak to a man named ****** who claimed he was the owner. ****** complained about how expensive "duct" was etc, etc. I figured if I don't have Custom Cooling install the ducting for the floor registers, it would effect the performance of my **** system, they wouldn't honor the labor warranty, etc. etc. Consequently, I told him to install them the duct work for the 2 floor registers, and wrote a check in the amount of $7,842! To resolve this matter through the BBB, Custom Cooling & Heating, *** must refund the difference between the quote received on 10/14/2022 for $6,900 and the check I wrote them on 12/6/2022 in the amount of $7,842. That difference in price is $942.00.

  

  Business response

  02/14/2023

  In regards to ********************** statements some facts are accurate but others are not. We agree that we were called to ********************** property to inspect his Air Conditioner and Duct work post Hurricane *** and did a onsite inspection on 10/14/2022. At that time we charged ****************** $99 which is our standard service call fee which included the labor/time for ************** to inspect the duct work and unit. We then provided ****************** a free Estimate to replace the Air Conditioner and Duct Work. The total of this Estimate was $7,400 not $6,900 as stated by ******************. If you look at the Proposal/Estimate that ****************** submitted you will see the Overall Total was $7,400 and he did not give us a $500 deposit which we normally require. If he had given us the $500 deposit then the total would be the $6,900 ****************** mentioned. 

  We arrived at ********************** home to complete the install and actually decreased the price of the original Estimate/Proposal as we were able to use ********************** existing duct cover as well as his AC Disconnect and Whip. We reduced the total by $405 bringing the total to $7,245. ****************** is correct that the 2 additional ******* Room Grilles were not noticed when we provided the original Estimate which happens sometimes. Once it was noticed that the ******* Room Grilles needed to be replaced we provided a price to ****************** prior to performing the work. ****************** was not happy about the price so he contacted our office. ****************** states "he spoke to ****** who claims to be the owner", ****** is in fact the owner and was happy to speak to ******************. ****** explained to ****************** that the charge for the additional ******* Room Grilles was accurate and that over the past 24 months there has been a extreme price increase in materials and also a shortage on materials. The fact that ****************** believes the person he spoke to named ****** was not the actual owner is offensive. ****************** did not have to have the ******* Room Grilles replaced by our company he could have used any company he wished. At no time was he told that if he went with another company that the warranty would not be valid, the warranty on the unit is form the manufacturer not a specific company. ****************** has not stated accurate facts when it comes to the monies he paid, he did not read the original estimate accurately as I have stated above. ****************** has also labeled one of the documents that he presented as "extortion payment" which is insulting and not factual at all. We did not mislead ****************** in anyway and we performed his job in a timely and professional manner. At this time we do not owe ****************** a refund of any monies. ****************** also stated after getting other quotes he contracted with us. This statement alone proves that we were fairly priced and that ****************** felt confident in hiring us. At this time we would prefer that ****************** finds another company to service is HVAC system in the future, as previously stated the warranty is from the manufacturer not a specific company he is free to use any company he wishes.

  Customer response

  02/21/2023

   
  

  Regarding Custom Coolings statement that the bid / quote was $7,400 and not $6,900 is correct. I made a mistake and apologize; in retrospect I did not make a $500 deposit. Custom Cooling also credited me $405 for various parts which were not damaged during the hurricane.  Custom Cooling is also correct stating that after securing additional quotes I felt confident their quote of $7,400 under the current conditions was acceptable and I did have confidence in hiring them.Ive been a customer of Custom Cooling  for over a decade, in fact they installed an identical **** System, including new duct work at this same address in May 2020.

  
  I was at my neighbors house when the representative from Custom Cooling arrived for a scheduled appointment for a bid / quote to install a new **** System, including duct work. After he gave my neighbor a quote, I asked if he could ****** the street and give me a quote for a new **** System including new duct work, that I had no interest salvaging the existing unit.  I stated Custom Cooling had installed the present unit approximately 2 years prior but since it was submerged due to storm surge, I wanted to install a new **** System. I explained there were 5 supply lines, 3 in the ceiling and 2 in the floor. I invited him in the house to look at the register locations, he declined, stating he could see everything from under the house. He wrote a quote in the amount of $7,400 for the purchase and installation of a new **** unit and all new duct work.

  
  When I purchased the **** system from Custom Cooling in May 2020 the quote, I was given was the amount I paid. All 5 supply lines were installed, 3 for the ceiling and 2 in the floor. Thats exactly what I expected to occur with this latest installation! The system would not cool or heat sufficiently with only 60% of the supply lines functioning / installed.
  The original quote was $7,400, with a $405 credit for materials not used leaving a balance of $6,995. After adding in an additional $600, the total would be $7,595. I wrote a check for $7,842 which means I paid an extra $247. Consequently, Im requesting $827 to resolve this matter; $247 in overpayments, plus the $600 extra I paid for the 2 floor supply lines.

   

  Complaint: 18946656
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

  

  Business response

  02/23/2023

  It does appear the technician made a mathematical error on the original estimate. The line items are correct but the total is not. The adjustments in blue ink on the invoice where made by the lead installer in the field when the additional grills were discovered. The lead installer also removed the items that were not necessary and adjusted the price. It appears his math was also incorrect and the customer should have paid $7845 but the installer wrote $7842 and that is what the customer paid. At this time we will refund ****************** $250 for the mathematical error on the original estimate. The additional $600 for the 2 ******* room grills that were noticed upon install is a valid charge and we do not feel we need to issue a credit since we performed the work. We will issue the $250 check credit to ****************** once he accepts our response and agrees to close the BBB complaint against our company. We continue to stand behind or work and we will meeting with all our field workers to remind them that they need to be diligent in the review of the estimates they are presenting to customers. 
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I recently had new ductwork installed under my home with custom cooling and heating my problem lies with their billing tactics after looking at the bill I noticed that there was not a charge showing for the materials used. I called custom cooling and ask them if they could give me a bill of the itemized charges for the products used for my home they replied to me not once but twice we do not do itemize bills we have a bundle package I have called them on two separate occasions and I still get the same reply from them. They stated that they have been doing this for over 30 years And they do not do itemized bills we bundle.as a consumer I have the right to receive an itemized statement of items used for the job.all I asked of them was to provide me with an itemized bill makes me wonder if they are price gouging the consumer as they buy their product in bulk I want to have an itemized bill for service and materials

  

  Business response

  11/10/2022

  **************** contacted us a couple weeks after the installation of his new duct work for his manufactured home requesting a itemized invoice for the work we performed. We explained we are a lump sum contractor and we do not itemize each price on our contracts. **************** never requested this information on our first visit to provide a estimate and or on our second visit to perform the work. **************** signed both service orders/invoices that stated the price. **************** contacted us after Hurricane *** flooded his home as well many others in his community. ************** went to ******************** home within 48 hours of his call for service, we provided **************** a price that he agreed to and signed. We installed ******************** duct work within 24 hours of providing him pricing. **************** signed the service order/invoice for the install which shows the job was completed and also reflects the price. We have been completely transparent with our service order/invoices and have provided excellent and immediate service to ****************. We have attached copies of the signed service order/invoices for your records. ******************** reference to price gouging is absolutely false and very offensive. We have been in business for over 32 years and go above and beyond for our customers. Please contact us if you need anything additional.  

  Customer response

  11/10/2022

   
  Complaint: 18379474
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ************************* all i would like is a break down of the Materials used for the job as two the bill that I signed it did not contain that breakdown of materials used. As the consumer I am entitled to a breakdown of the materials cost.

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